1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to outdoor stoves, and more particularly to outdoor stoves which are collapsible for compactness.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Collapsible cooking units which may be assembled for us and disassembled for enclosure in a container for easy transportation and for facilitating storage are known. Such cooking units a disclosed in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 440,984, entitled "Convertible Cooking Unit", filed Nov. 12, 1982, U.S. Pat. No. 4,508,094, by Paul W. Hait, and in pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 502,689, entitled "Convertible Cooking Unit With An Oven", filed June 9, 1983, U.S. Pat. No. 4,531,505, by Paul W. Hait and Dan Rohrer. The assignee of the present application is the assignee of the aforementioned applications. The individual cooking units described in these various patent applications are particularly adaptable for use out of doors as environmentally enclosed heating and/or cooking systems.
It is well-known that outdoor cooking units have been supported by stands, legs, carts and the like. However, such outdoor cooking units are not collapsible for facilitating the transporting thereof and for ease of storage as compact units.
Frequently, outdoor cooking units are specifically adapted either solely for use on patios for barbecuing and the like or for use while camping out of doors. Such cooking units may be disassemblable or collapsible to allow their easy storage or to facilitate the transporting thereof. In the particular instance of social activities on a patio, a table surface may be desired at times when cooking is not being performed. Because patio space is generally limited and due to the inconvenience of storing and rearranging a separate cooking unit and a table, it is beneficial if the same item were easily adaptable for use either as a table or as a cooking unit.